Ruger Mini 14 and Mini 30 accuracy

They always hit what I was aiming at.

I'd heard the same thing, but never could find a large enough sample size to prove or disprove. While I like being a little different in my collection than others, collecting potentially less accurate guns didn't appeal to me, so I moved on. The thing that drew me to an AR platform was there is a greater ability to accessorize an AR than an Mini.

Revilo said:

i'm considering purchasing a Mini 14 or Mini 30. However, I've read where there were negative accuracy issues in older models with better results on the newer models. Can anyone speak with accurate (excuse the pun) information and intel?

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Several issues, one is that the originals Mini 14 had thin barrels and a 1 in 10 barrel twist, the Mini 30 originally was a .308 bore and warned against using steel cased ammo. The Mini 14/30 manufacturing line was shut down to retool sometime in 2004 and then Ruger retooled and started again in 2005. Apparently, the quality during the last years of the older model went down but opinion vary on that due to the old tooling. Folks seem to like the post 2005 better for a variety of reasons. Oh, and don't count on buying aftermarket magazines that are cheaper than the Ruger ones. Function on these has been hit or miss.

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/ruger-mini-14-twist-rate-vs-accuracy.67087/

Here is a list of serial numbers by year.
https://rugerforum.net/ruger-semi-a...14-30-manufacture-date-twist-rate-update.html

And an article about the design feature changes and how these affected accuracy. Take the opinions offered or leave them but the author does discuss in his opinion what features caused the inaccuracy.
https://www.offthegridnews.com/self-defense/the-ruger-mini-14s-biggest-problem-and-how-to-fix-it/

You can buy retrofit parts for these from Brownells.

I have no experience with older Mini-14's. Mine is a newer 584 series. I wouldn't describe it as accurate. Best I ever got was 3 MOA at 100 yards, and I think that was a fluke. But something about it just makes it fun to shoot!

Personal experience with an older Mini 30. After three trips back to Ruger, I could hit a 2 foot by 3 foot target at 50 yards twice in ten shots (maybe).

I had a 581, that after some basic tuning was a 1.5moa rifle.
I shot a few pics and sheep with it out to 200-250yds, and every round landed where i was aiming.
Honestly tho, if your looking for pure performance the AR offer a better hang for your buck. BUT I like minis and when it comes out in .350, which i think is a better option for what I do with them, I'll buy another one.

I love the Garand action. It’s kinda like an American AK. Still, I’ve owned more than a few and hoped that I would get lucky and find an exceptionally accurate sample. That never happened. You should see anywhere between 2-4 MOA accuracy.

But hey, if you want one, you want one. I always had fun shooting them and popping stuff like clay pigeons out to 100 yards is within the Mini’s capability.

Personally, for me, I’m a bang for the buck kind of guy in the end and AR15s are more accurate, very reliable and cheaper. The equipment for an AR is cheaper too. For the price of a new Mini, you could get an AR, a bunch of mags and a good bit of ammo, unless you find a used Mini that happens to come with a bunch of ruger branded mags. Forget about aftermarket.

I had an older mini 14 with a side folding wire stock. 3 moa was all I could manage , I liked the gun but I let it go. Don't miss it.

Ahem. The Mini14 is the butt of many a shooter joke (insert A-team missing target here lol). It is probably my favorite gun to take out plinking at 100 yard range. If your goal is small groups, please do not get one. You will be frustrated. They are not target guns and although a few float around which will shoot tight clusters, most do not. Old ones without modifcations are usually 4 to 5 inch shooters, while newer ones can be half of that. A bunch of mods can bring down to 1-1/2 to 2 with good ammo. Either way they are completely usuable for plinking, hunting, and most other endeavours under 200 yards so long as the target is not too small. Much like the sks and AK crowd, going in with this accuracy expectation you will be happy and enjoy owning one (or more than one!).

Mini-30s tend to all be in the 2-3 moa crowd from what I've handled and heard. Before the recent ARs and bolt guns, they were a nice step up from the foreign surplus semiautos. The guns have SAAMI chambers which seat steel cased ammo slightly deeper than the factory firing pins can consistently strike with enough force to set off. It really needs an extra 10 thousandths of protrusion. Some people will put in a stronger spring to try to compensate or modify/swap out the firing pin. Success varies.

That said, these days the Rugers are expensive. Even with weird market pressures they are hundreds more than more accurate and adaptable ARs. At the end of the day, unless you really like the style and fit of the gun OR live where other options are regulated I would strongly recommend looking at ARs first.

I had an older Mini 30 - no idea of the serial number. And even though it was scoped, it would barely keep 3 shots on a pie saucer at 100 yards no matter what I fed it. Nevertheless, my wife and I watched our oldest grandson kill his first mule deer with it. He punched her just a little high, through the lungs, at about 80 yards. She staggered forward a few steps, fell down, and didn't get back up.

I bought one in November. I've wanted one long time. It is a long way from one of the most accurate rifles I own and can't compare to an AR-15. It is a ton of fun to shoot though. Check out the links Boom Boom provided.

I have a 580 series rifle with the tapered barrel with 1/9 twist. With cheap Monarch ammo from Academy I can shoot consistent 2.5" groups at 100 yards. Thats about as well as I can do with any open sighted rifle at that range. Better ammo may group a little tighter but it may take a scope to do it.

This gun does all I want a 223 rifle to do. And like it about 10 times better than the AR I own. The AR never gets shot.

I have 8 twenty pound Pro-Mag magazines. They work just as well the one Ruger 20 rounder I own. I know others don't like Minis and some have had less than good experiences with the older versions but I like mine.

I have never owned or shot a mini 30. I think if I wanted to shoot the 7.62 round I would get an SKS or one of the cool little bolt actions for it. Forgot to add that I do have two SKS rifles. Both Norinco, one 20" and the other the 16" version. Those are neat little guns.

Hey, if you get one and are interested, I busted my toe in my closet today and when I looked down, it turned out that I kicked a butler creek folding stock for a mini. Couldn't tell you how old it is, but it's in good shape, except for a little surface rust. If interested, shoot me a PM. We could trade for something. Whatcha got that you don't need?

I installed it and hated it, but you could use it to play while you watch reruns of the A-Team.

Minis used to be for people who shouldn’t afford or didn’t want an AR-15. Now it’s reversed.

My first generation ranch rifle was pretty inaccurate but then I’m not a great rifleman. I put an Accu-strut on it and I could hold a tennis ball sized group offhand at 50 yards which is more than adequate for my purposes.

I ran it in a 3-gun once and did better than I typically do on the 200+ yard steel. This is with open sights. I don’t run a scope on it even though it’s meant for it.

I stiffened the barrel on mine by cutting off 5.5", now it shoots pretty good groups. I manage .75" at 60 yards with hand loads, with a tech rear peep.

Wanted one for years but reading all the problems they've had I keep passing for something else. One day I'll own a mini 30. Just not today.

The Mini-14 has a rep for not shooting very well. I like a Hogue stock on mine and since it is rather flexable, glass bedding, like I would do on an M-1 Garand or M1a, wouldn't work, but what did work pretty will is to look at the space between the stock and the receiver as it sits in the stock and make pieces of aluminum sheet stock of the appropriate thickness and put it in the two recesses in the stock to tighten the receiver in the stock. It seems to really help.

The regular mini 14 doesn’t chunk the brass as far as the “Ranch” versions but don’t have the machined scope mounts. My friends mini is more accurate that my ranch, his with irons, mine with optics at 300 yards and we can find the brass from his without putting up a net to catch it from mine.

If you are buying new, AR’s will run circles around them, accuracy wise, for less money today.

I had an older 80's model that would give consistent 6" groups at 100 yards. I had a later 580 series that gave 2 1/2" groups at 100 yards, sometimes down to 2".

I have a stainless Ranch rifle that I bought new about 20 years ago. I first sighted it in with the original sights just to know they were usable. Groups were ho-hum. I later put a Leupold 1-4X scope on it using the Ruger rings it came with. Groups were still ho-hum. I later used it in a 3-gun match. One stage was on a 200yd range but we were out in front of the firing line, call it 180yds. Yes, I did have the scope dialed all the way up to 4X. We fired through a group of ports starting at standing height and reducing in height until the last one where you had to go prone. The rifle kept all hits well within the A zone of a USPSA metric target shooting as fast as I could go. This is all the accuracy I really expect from it.

My first Mini 14 was a blue model and you would be lucky to hit a man at 75 yards. It was horrible. Later I purchased a Mini 30 that had a rail and red dot. It was a lot better. No problem keeping it on a 4" Plate at 100 yards. I recently purchased a stainless Mini 14 from 1980. With the factory peep sight that I don't care for and my old eyes, I can keep it on a 6" target at 100 yards and that is just fine with me. I didn't expect any more and it will eat anything I feed it.

My experience with a 581 series, scoped, in mostly the mid to late 80's.

We didn't shoot for accuracy and 95r of the timw shot standing with no support.

Soda cans and clay pigeons at 100+ yards were no problem casually plinking away mag after mag.

At around 150 - 200, the misses increased. But to be fair we always were shooting in the open desert and it seems mostly not very good conditions for target shooting - wind.


Do a 30 round mag dump and try to hit a clay at 200 yards and if it ricocheted just right... you might hit it 5 out of 10 times.


I wouldn't hesitate to get a newer one.

I'm not into pistol grip rifles really but agree that the ARs give a better value.


I don't even have a 223/556 at all right now but I do have a few hundred rounds laying around. I'm thinking a trimly setup bolt action with a scope for my tired eyes.



ETA: I mean to say 181. It was either a 181 or 183 but I'm pretty sure it was a 181, ranch model, to be more specific.

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I bought a brand new stainless mini-30 in 2007. I messed with it a-lot trying glean all the accuracy I could from it but finally gave up. Tried every factory ammo I could get my hands on, and even installed an “accu-strut”. That was before I was a reloader, but the best groups I could get at 50 yards was about 3” with a scope. No sure if they still make the accu struts, but it did help a little, and they look really nice if you like the way garands look. Its also entirely possible I scorched the barrel rapid firing, as most teenagers will inevitably do with a shiny new auto rifle.